Honorable Bertila Soto was re-elected – without opposition – to a fourth two-year term as Chief Judge. She is the first female and first Hispanic Chief Judge in the history of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

First elected to the bench in 1997 as a County Court Judge, Chief Judge Soto served in the Domestic Violence Division and Misdemeanor Jail Divisions before being appointed to the Circuit Court in 2002 by then-Governor Jeb Bush.

As a Circuit Court Judge, she served in the Criminal Division, rising through the ranks to become Associate Administrative Judge and eventually Administrative Judge of that division, prior to being elected Chief Judge by her colleagues in 2013.

The Chief Judge has administrative authority over the entire Circuit and is elected to this post every two years by her fellow judges.

As always, we hope this brief update has been informative and helpful.